Mustang

I'm not caught up in all of the happiness/hype, I guess, because I lived through our previous Super Bowl run as a full-fledged fan, and now am happy at a distance for all of the present day fans getting to experience a playoffs run. What I am guilty of is bad timing. They are valid points, but I should have waited a day or two to make them. I am truly happy that we finally have a world class quarterback, who has some incredibly talented offensive weapons around him. I hope he stays healthy and provides this kind of thrills for this city for a long time, but my "couch burning" days are behind me.

I'm glad we won or we would have had to listen to how bad we got screwed on the interception call for the rest of our lives. I think we would be wise to root for Buffalo, because I don't want to play Mahomes in the playoffs, regardless of what we did in the regular season. Fantastic performance from McPherson, after all of the unreliable kickers we have had in the past. Burrows is the real deal, but risking his career playing behind this O line.

I'll stick with my 10th Region brethren from Brooksville, who are playing their best basketball of the season right now. Hopefully, the Bears will perform to the capabilities on the big stage at EKU.

Interesting second half. After a snoozer of a first half where Brossart led 12-10 at intermission after blanking the Eagles in the second period, things picked up dramatically in the second half. In that half no team at any time led by more than one possession. There were 6 ties and 8 lead-changes. Scott wins on a well-executed high-low to Cameron Patterson. Brossart's David Govan led all scorers with 14 points and Mason Sepate added 10. Nolan Hunter paced the Eagles with 12. Scott completes the sweep of the Campbell County Catholics, having previously defeated NCC, for their lone win coming into tonight's bout with Brossart, who fall to 7-12 on the season.

NCC prevails 39-36 over Brossart in a "Battle of the Campbell County Fish-eaters", as a former poster would say. Lady Stangs unable to overcome the "Carothers Curse" dating back to Dec. 11th, 2000, when our girls last tasted victory on the Carothers Road Hill. NCC Senior Rylee Turner added 29 points to her career scoring total, raising that number to 1,689, scoring 29 of the Breds 39 points. Only two other players joined her in the scoring column - Emily Heck, who drained two huge 3-pointers to start the second half to finish with 6, and Caroline Eaglin with 4. Brossart had seven players put ink in the scorebook, led by Junior Molly Kramer who netted 17. With the win, the Breds improve to 13-6, and our Lady 'Stangs fall to 11-7. We will be home tonight (Fri. 1-21) to host Lloyd Memorial on Brossart Senior Night.

I like the Fieldhouse popcorn, because when I'm eating it we are usually playing in a regional tournament or big game. I recently found Calvary Christian's to be good, and I still remember some that I got at the Owensboro Sportscenter and that has been nearly 20 years ago.

St. Henry in command early in this one, as we fall behind 38-28 at halftime, and then dig a 17 point hole at 48-31 with 2:21 remining in the third quarter. From that point on the tide changed dramatically, as the Mustangs would cut the deficit to 12 after three quarters, go on a 7-2 run to start the fourth quarter and draw within a single point at 56-55 when Luke Schumacher delivered a 3-pointer with 30 ticks remaining on the clock. A foul send the Cru's leading scorer Jack Grayson to the charity stripe for two and he missed them both, with Brossart coming down with the rebound and a chance to win the game. It came down to a 3-point attempt launched by Brandon Bezold which went for naught as time expired, as St. Henry dodged the bullet to win their 8th game of the season. The Mustangs fall to 7-11. Brossart's David Govan led all scorers with 20. Jack Grayson and Matthew Resing paced the Cru with 16 and 10 respectively. The Mustangs will now prepare for a district seeding game with Scott on Friday night in Taylor Mill.

I'm sure that the Mason County Fieldhouse was built with the specific goal of hosting the 10th Region Tournament on an annual basis at a central location. For years and years it fulfilled that mission, and the 10th Region was proud of it, and the member schools were happy to have such a wonderful venue to hold it's annual rite of spring. In the present day where the 40th spent millions on two Region-worthy facilities the Fieldhouse lost a 25% slice of the pie. Now with the 37th exercising their option to host it in Northern Kentucky, and the 38th now also perhaps considering that option, Mason County might as well burn down the Fieldhouse, collect the insurance money, build a smaller facility with less maintenance and overhead, and when it's the 40ths turn to host it, have it at Lewis County (Junior) High School a few miles farther down the AA.

OK, I guess they changed it to assure that they would receive close to a comparable "double-share." There was a time when the host school did receive a double-share.i

Bracken County also beat Augusta in the 10th "A" Opening Round, which was their stiffest test.

Answering a question from the podcast. Districts that choose to play at the Mason County Fieldhouse do not pay rent to use their facility. Mason County does however receive a double-share.

Lady 'Stangs get a quality, signature win over Ashland Paul Blazer on Saturday in the MLK Classic at George Rogers Clark. Girls hot from beyond the arc early. Hit six 3-pointers on the day. Come from five down late to pull the upset over the now 8-2 Lady Tomcats. Lauren Macht leads the offensive attack with 16, Olivia Lloyd adds 10. Molly Kramer pulled down 8 rebounds. Brossart senior Lauren Macht named Player of the Game. As a side note, the Brossart girls are now 5-0 while playing in the the new GRC facility in WInchester. Will take their best shot at Notre Dame Monday in a tripleheader in Alexandria.

New traditions, when for the greater good, might be acceptable. GRC and Montgomery County spent millions to build basketball palaces worthy of hosting a 10th Region tournament. They get their crack at it every four years and we all understand and accept it. Our "new tradition" is nothing more than a short-sighted, self-serving effort to have GRC ride a bus to Covington for three days, and to save us a drive to Maysville.

It has nothing to do with going to Covington. It is a mentality of "Every man/program for themselves." The 10th Region was in existence long before we arrived. We embraced and appreciated being part of a tradition rich region that had a central focal point, and worked hard to be good citizens of the 10th. The 10th Region began to lose some of its glamor and identity when Fred Hester retired, and here in the 37th when Willie Schlarman and Ken Mueller moved on Unfortunately, we no longer value the past and have adapted this "what's in it for us" mentality. All this will serve to do is drive a wedge between the 37th, and what is left of the "old guard" 10th Region - the 38th and 39th districts. A gap that we managed to mend over the past 25 years. Unfortunately, there are only a few of us left that understand and value it. No, it has nothing whatsoever to do with driving to Covington. It is all about values, principles, and respect. Or in this case, lack thereof.

So much for history, tradition and solidarity. 10th Region Tournament at Holmes. Kind of has a sad ring to it. We are no longer members of a once proud unit, but have simply become a geographic location. Too bad!

I'm sure they are partying like it is 1998 in Brooksville, the year they last won a 10th Region "A" Championship. Blake Reed with 32 points vs Calvary. I was also impressed with Calvary. Bracken was much too quick for them, but overall, they have a nice team.

Losses should hurt, that means you care. You must also understand that they re a part of the game. I've been a lifelong horse-player and when you are winning you think you are smart beyond belief and invincible. When you are losing you wonder why you are playing a game that depends on the performance of animals - similar to teenagers. I'm still hurting and second-guessing myself for a loss we took to Boone County when I was our girls coach back in the 9th Region Semi-Finals in the late 80s. Right, wrong, or indifferent, you only pass that way once, and when your decisions work out you are the king of the world, when they don't you are still lamenting that decision thirty years later. I'm also still regretting a time-out I called in a freshman boys game against Campbell County back in 1982, when I should have had the confidence in my team to just let them play it out. That was 39 years ago. Crazy, huh???

Great game, well played. Brossart led 39-35 after three quarters, but could muster only a single field-goal in the fourth quarter, along with seven free-throws and were outscored 17-10, giving the Lady Hounds the win 52-49. This is Paris's first 10th Region "A" Championship since 2009 and 8th overall.

Congratulations to Gary Huhn on 1,500. Saw, but didn't have a chance to chat with Gary when the Bulldogs came to Alexandria last week. Impeccably dressed - shirt and tie, showing respect for the game, Gary is a credit to the profession, and I'm happy to see the Holmes community recognize the milestone.

I really don't know much about Paris, only having seen them play this past Saturday vs St. Patrick, and I really haven't seen our girls all that much this year. We seem to be very inconsistent, and recently have had trouble scoring. I will not be a bit surprised with however this one turns out. I just hope it is a good clean game, and the better team/representative of the 10th, wins.

Bracken County jumped out to a quick 11-3 lead on the hot-handed shooting of Blake Reed, who nailed a trio of 3-Pointers from plus-NBA range, paving the way for a 21-10 first quarter advantage. The Bears cooled off in the second period and the Mustangs cut the gap to 27-21 late in the half, and had several opportunities to cut further into the deficit. The Bears weathered the storm and led 29-21 at halftime. We were outscored 33-24 in the second half as the Bears improved to 12-5 on the season, and advance to the Thursday night 10th Region "A" Championship game where they will face Calvary Christian at 6pm. Bracken County is seeking their first 10th Region "A" Title since 1998. Freshman Bear Cayden Reed led all scorers with 20 points, followed closely by his sophomore brother Blake who put up 18, including a total of five 3-pointers.. Devante Jefferson added 12. David Govan led the Mustangs with 15, and Mason Sepate contributed 14 for the Mustangs. Govan was tabbed All-Academic and All-Tournament for Brossart. The most glaring difference in the game came at the free-throw line where the Bears held a 12/16 to 6/18 advantage over our Mustangs. Brossart will get back to regular season action on Tuesday, January 18th when we host the St. Henry Crusaders.

So what does that say about the RPI system???

Until one of our 37th District member school builds a facility liken to MoCo or GRC, worthy of hosting the tournament, then no, I believe that Mason County Fieldhouse should remain the viable option.

Here is my very old school, yet very honest answer. Just as the heart of Country Music still beats in Luke the Drifter, so does the heart of the 10th Region still beat in the Mason County Fieldhouse. Disrespect of the past, and being totally selfish with no solidarity with the remainder of the 10th Region would be a good place to start. Some of us have worked very hard to be good citizens of the 10th Region over the years, and others of us obviously, simply don't care.

Brossart jumped out to a 16-1 first quarter lead and never looked back, despite some anxious moments late in the game when the Blue Jackets closed to within seven twice at 53-46 and again at 55-48. The Mustangs used superior free-throw shooting, hitting 8 consecutive down the stretch, earning them a 14 point advantage for the game - 18/25 to 4/11. Brossart Junior Mason Sepate led all scorers with 19 points - 18 of them coming in the first half. Wyatt Clark countered with 18 for Nicholas County. WIth the win the Mustangs improve to 7-9 on the season and will take on Bracken County in the Tuesday night lower bracket semis at 6pm.